Vehicle-wheel.



PATENTED AUGL 11, 1908.

A. GRAPE. VEHICLE WHEEL.

APPLICATION FILED APR.16, 1906.

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ANDREW (.iliAFl, O11 \YllLLlNLvTON, KANSAS.

VEHICLE-W HEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

Application filed April 16, 1906. Ss-ial No. 312,027.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, ANnnEw GRAFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wellington, in the. county ol Sumner and State of Kansas, have invented a new and useful Vehicle-VVheel, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to vehicle wheels, and has for its object to provide for cushioning the same in a new and novel manner, whereby pneumatic and other puncturz'iblc tires are dispensed with, and the desired yielding qualities are preserved.

A further object of the. invention is to provide an improved rim which ol' itsell' also constitutes a tire and is yieldablc, and it is also proposed to support the rim by means of elastically yield-able spokes to supplement the yieldable qualities of the rim.

With these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts as will be hereinafter more fully' described, shown in the accompanying drawing and p:n-ticuiarl r pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the form, pro por lon, size and minor details may be made, within 't'liescone of the claims without 'departing l'rom tluispirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

' In the drawing: Figure 1 is a sideelevre tion of a vehicle wheel embodying the Teatures of the present invention, one of the. shields being broken away to disclose several of the spokes. Fig. 2 is a cross sectional View of the wheel. is a detail fragbig. o mentary perspective view ot a modified form of spoke. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view of the rim of the wheel.

Like characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all of the llgures ot' the drawing.

c The present wheel includes a hub 1 having the usual bore or s'iindle opening 2. The opposite ends of the 11th are slightly reduced in diameter so as to provide external annular shoulders 3 and l, and midway between these shoulders is an external annularllange 5' integral with the hub. At regular inter- Vals, the outer periphery of the llangc is provided with sockets 6, which are preferably threaded for the reception of a threaded spoke member 7, as in l igs. l and 2. This spoke member is tubular and telescopically receives another spoke member h which is provided upon its outer end with a yoke or l'ork t) disposed transversely to the wheel and designed to form a seat for the rim. A helical spring it) embraces the. spoke and bears in opposite directions against the llange 5 and the seat or yoke t), thereby to yieldably maintain the outer spoke member at its uter limit.

A modilied arrangement of spoke has been shown in Fig. 3, wherein a helical spring 1'] is disposed within the tubular spoke member 7 so as to bear against the inner end of the latter and against the inner end ol' the spoke member 8, whereby the spring is housed in a very etl'ective and convenient nmnner with out requiring any alteration in the. assemblage ol' the spoke membm's.

'lhe rim ol the wheel consists of a wire helix 1; of cold drawn wire. having its coils or whirls circular in form and lying in contact with one another, said rim being received within the seats or yokcs .l, whereby the. rim is yieldnbly supported by the yieldnble spokes.

.it each side of the wheel there is a metallic shield 123 which is provided with a concentric internally threaded hub portion l-l screwed upon the adjacent threaded end of the hub and set up tightly against the adjacent shoulder 23 or 4, the shield being in the form of a. yieldablc disk ol such a diameter as to have its outer llared peripheral portion I?) bear against the adjacent ends of the seats and the helical rim to maintain the rim centered upon the wheel, and also to form a brace. to take. lateral strains from the spokes. It will of course be understood that there is no positive connection between each shield or brace and the rim, as it is necessary to have the rim yield radially and it must therefore be independent ol the braces. To reduce weight, it is proposed to provide each shield member with radial slots to which terminate short of the. outer edge ol the. shield in order that the latter may not be weakened throughout that portion which engages the adjacent side of the. rim. 'lho disks or shields 13-; are, of course, yicldable outward in order to permit inward movement ol' the yokc-like ends ol' the spoke sections.

lt will now be understood that the. rim is ol' ilscll' yieldnblc independently of the yieldable spokes, and by reason of its ribbed tread portion, it has a lirm grip upon the roadway and is therel'cn'e not liable to slip or skid on smooth roadways and when turning out of a straight path.

The bending of the Wire helix from its original straight condition in the form of a 011- cle, of course slightlyseparates the whirls of the helix throughout the tread portion of the rim, and as such openings will permit mud and the like to Work into the interior of the rim, it is proposed to close such openings, and this is accomplished by winding a Wire 16' of small gage around the rim and in the grooves or channels provided between the whirls of the rim.

- Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is: Y

1. A vehicle wheel having a helical rim which is wrapped with a small age wire fitted in the s iral channel formec between the whirls of t 1e helix.

2. A combined rim and tire for vehicles consisting of a wire helix bent into circular form and having a wire of small gage wound thereon in the spiral channel formed between the whirls of the helix. 5 i

3. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub, telescopic spokes, a rim carried by the spokes, an disk braces fitted upon the ends of the hub and bearing against opposite sides of the I rim.

ANDREW GRAFF. Witnesses:

W. H. BURKS, C. B. LAMBE.

4. A vehicle wheel comprising a hub, I 

